Through the Hoop
by akari-hayashi
Summary: A little competition between Momoshiro and Ryoma. And nope, it's not tennis. (MomoRyo. Man, my summaries are getting more and more vague...)


**Through the Hoop**

**A/N**: Yeah! Another piece of Momoryo fluff from me to all you guys out there : ) Haha, I have this whole stash of plots stored and ready for writing, then all of a sudden, this stupid idea popped up and I just have to write it! By stupid, I don't mean it's bad just that it's... stupid. –sweatdropz- Hope you all will find it cute. And I got fed up at Ryoma being paired up with other people besides Momo... And threesome? WAAAA -runs away- No offense to supporters of those pairings though. (Also sorry for not managing to write a Halloween fic, writer's block...)

Please also join my Momoryo yahoo group **Chocolate-mint!** : )

**To the reviewers of Hot Chocolate** -starts distributing overflowing cups of hot chocolate-:

AmAnOaNdIn: Heh, at first I don't even know how to pronounce your nick. But anyway, thanks for your review! Hope you like this as well.

HellFenix: Ha, I like those 3-in-1 chocolate sachets, I am so lazy...

ruji: Heh, fanfiction writers should take care of each other ne? -big hugz-

Aku-chan: Thanks for being such a loyal reader and reviewer! I'm so honoured. Thanks for the pocky, furthermore it's my favourite flavour!

Kawaii Chibi Yami: Another loyal reviewer! Thanks thanks! Your reviews really meant a lot to me. Heh, tell you a secret... I already had a angst-filled Momoryo multi-parter in mind... : )

**Rating**: Er... PG?

**Disclaimer**: Characters belong to Konomi Takeshi. Plot belongs to me. I just combined the two and made a big mess. Oh, the mess belongs to me too.

**Summary**: A little competition between Momoshiro and Ryoma. And nope, it's not tennis. (MomoRyo. Man, my summaries are getting more and more vague...)

* * *

The streets were extremely crowded today. It was bustling with life and people swarmed into the fast food joint where Momoshiro and Ryoma normally had their snack. And that was where they were at this particular moment. 

Seated at his regular seat, Momoshiro tried to figure out what was the fuss all about. No doubt he did not like the feeling of being left out. These people were obviously excited about something but Momoshiro could only pick out a few keywords, like "fun", "games", "amusement" and "exciting". Sounded interesting enough though.

"Ne, Echizen?"

"What?" The younger boy beside Momoshiro mumbled through a mouthful of burger.

"Do you know what is happening? Is there like this huge event going on? People are filling this place like sardines in a can."

"No idea. Not interested either." Ryoma looked up at his senior, big golden eyes saturated with boredem. He did not understand what was the big deal. So what if people are popping out all of a sudden? He still got his favourite seat.

Momoshiro sighed, not surprised at Ryoma's reaction. "Aren't you even a teeny weeny bit curious?"

"Nope." Ryoma smirked. Why should he be curious about people he did not even know? He was more curious of other stuff, like things that happen in the privacy of their bedrooms... "Let's go, Momo-senpai. I don't like the crowd."

"Hai." Momoshiro gulped down his drink and left the restaurant. Ryoma was not curious but Momoshiro sure was. And he made it a point to find out the truth by the end of the day.

---

The truth came early though. In fact, it was shoved into Momoshiro's hands fifteen minutes later.

"Jayson Circus! Rides, games, animal shows, astonishing magic acts and much more! Come see the spectaculars or you will regret for life!" Stated the pamphlet in large bold letters. Momoshiro's eyes immediately got larger as well.

With sparkles in his orbs and a wide grin, Momoshiro turned to Ryoma.

"Echizen-"

"No, I don't want to waste my money on some stupid circus." The moment Momoshiro touched that dreaded piece of paper, Ryoma knew his senior would want to go to the circus. The pure excitement in the purple eyes did not help in concealing that fact either.

"But you will regret for life if you do not go! Besides, I will pay for your ticket." Momoshiro whined, pulling the smaller boy close to him, hoping to persuade him with his charm.

"Regret what? The stupid clowns, the stupid animals or the stupid games? Ya, right."

"Echizen..."

"No means no, Momo-senpai." Ryoma sighed, shaking his head. He really did not like the circus. He could not see what was so interesting about the red and white striped tents, nor the horrendously masked up figures otherwise known as the clowns. Ryoma vaguely remembered Nanjiroh bringing him to a circus or an amusement park when he was young and well... He preferred not to talk about it. However, Ryoma could not help but felt a bit guilty at rejecting his senior. The circus was a fun place to be and Momoshiro obviously liked fun.

"Irritating brat." Momoshiro grumbled under his breath, not understanding why Ryoma was so adamant against going to the circus. He could already imagine them going on one of those scary rides and Ryoma would be in his arms, frightened and scared. Momoshiro would then be the hero and console his cute little junior. Aww, what a happy ending. But then, Ryoma had to come and pop that bubble so harshly.

Thank gods Momoshiro was a determined person. A few simple "no"s were not enough to deter him from going to the circus with Ryoma. He was going to rebuild that little dream bubble of his no matter what. It just meant that the road of persuasion was going to be so much tougher.

'Hmmm...' Momoshiro thought, looking around for an idea. He just needed to get Ryoma to go, there was no point in telling that brat how much fun the circus would be as he simply would not listen. Maybe he could trick Ryoma? Nah, Ryoma was too clever. How about... A bet? A bet that Ryoma could not refuse and gave him incentive to take part. However, it must also be a bet that ensure a sure win for Momoshiro.

Scanning through the area they were at, purple eyes settled upon a round object.

'Ah ha!'

---

Ryoma had no idea what Momoshiro was doing. One minute he was grinning like a idiot, then he seemed deep in thought, and now, the idiot was back and was dragging him towards a group of people doned in jerseys of different colours.

He saw Momoshiro talking to the group of teenagers, apparently he knew one of them. One particular guy dressed in red looked over at Ryoma then whispered cheekily something to Momoshiro. In return, Momoshiro just scratched his head, slightly embarassed.

Ryoma frowned, wondering what was going on.

All of a sudden, Momoshiro turned towards Ryoma and with a big smile on his face, he said, "How about we have a competition, Echizen?"

"A competition?"

"Yup. If I win, you will accompany me to the circus!"

Seemed like Momoshiro's mind was still stuck on the stupid circus. "And what if I win?"

"Well, if you win, I'll do whatever you want."

"Really?" Now THAT was a tempting invitation. Ryoma could already start thinking of the different possibilities after his victory. Delicious and yummy possiblilities.

"I swear. Anything you want." Momoshiro grinned and raised his hand towards the sky in a sign of sincerity.

"Fine. But what are we competing on? You know you can't beat me in tennis." Ryoma smirked. Much as he did not want to insult Momoshiro, the well-known truth was that his senior was not as good as him in tennis.

Strangely, that insult did not have the usual effect on Momoshiro. His spiky-haired senior just grinned and replied, "Of course I know that. I'm not stupid! We are competing on something else."

Then taking a orange ball with black stripes that his friend had passed to him, Momoshiro announced the challenge.

"Let's shoot some hoops."

Ryoma blinked, in a very cute fashion according to Momoshiro. Shoot hoops? His senior meant basketball right? Ryoma frowned, he was not very fond of basketball. Simply because his height did not particularly allow him to excel in the sport.

"But... I'm not good at basketball." Ryoma admitted.

"Ma ma, I'm not good at it either. That's why it's more fair, right?" Momoshiro put an arm around the smaller boy's shoulders, the usual mesmerizing smile on his face. That smile that always managed to do wonders to Ryoma's heart.

Thinking over in his head, Ryoma finally nodded. The stakes were high but the odds were pretty even. And Ryoma could never resist a challenge.

Pleased that he got Ryoma to participate, Momoshiro gave those soft black locks he loved a slight ruffle then proclaimed, "Ok, my friend here will be the judge. First person to shoot in ten balls win."

---

And so it began, that hot and slightly stuffy afternoon, the basketball match between Momoshiro Takeshi and Echizen Ryoma.

The bunch of teenagers cleared out of the half-court area to allow the competition to begin. It was a simple contest, the two tennis players were going to try and shoot from different zones in the half-court. The person who scored ten points first would be declared the winner.

After a few practice shots by both players, Momoshiro's friend announced loudly the official start of the competition.

First up was Ryoma and surprise, surprise, the ball bounced off the backboard and right into the hoop.

"Wow! Echizen you are not bad." Momoshiro praised, a clear tone of surprise in his voice.

Smirking, Ryoma replied playfully, "I said I'm not good at basketball but I'm not bad at it either. Regret challenging me now?" Actually, if not for the physical education lessons in school, Ryoma probably would not come into contact with basketball at all. It was the one sport that reminded him of his height disadvantage. Luckily, Ryoma had a natural talent for sports.

Momoshiro just smiled and proceeded to score his point. "Same here."

The competition continued, both sides not willing to give in. Momoshiro and Ryoma were on par, tied at 5-5.

The sun hung high in the clear blue sky and shone down relentlessly on the group. Despite playing for only a short while, Momoshiro and Ryoma were already sweating profusely.

Ryoma bounced the ball slightly on the cement floor, getting used to the feel of the orange ball in his hand. Satisfied, he jumped and threw the ball towards the basket. The orange object sailed through the air in a perfect loop and landed right in the middle of the netted hoop. It was a beautiful shot and Momoshiro found himself hopelessly captivated.

No, he was not mesmerized by the beauty of the shot, but by the beautiful boy standing in front of him. The silky locks with green undertones, the big golden pools, the lean muscles on that small body and the flawless skin, Momoshiro was attracted by it all. Even the small trails of sweat trickling down Ryoma's forehead and chin, glistening in the sunlight, was fascinating in Momoshiro's eyes. Ryoma just looked so... ethereal. Put in a little more imagination and Momoshiro could even see the pink flowers around Ryoma, like those in shoujo manga.

But that was not the most important part. The small smile on Ryoma's face was. The tiny smile that appeared on his face after the ball went through the hoop. Gosh, Momoshiro just loved the way Ryoma smiled, simply because it was so rare and precious. He wanted so much to see more of that smile, especially if it was directed solely at him.

At first, Momoshiro thought he could win easily but looking at how Ryoma performed so far, he realized he might need to try harder. However, now he decided that it did not matter even if he loses. Losing was nothing compared to seeing a genuine smile from Ryoma. And Momoshiro knew clearly that a smile was what he was going to get if Ryoma did win.

"Momo-senpai..."

Ryoma was about to hand the retrieved ball over to Momoshiro but it was then that he noticed his senior staring rather blatantly at his face. And it was obvious that his mind was no longer on planet Earth. A light tinge of pink surfaced on Ryoma's face. It did not help much that Momoshiro's judge friend was trying very hard to stifle his amusement behind his hand.

Frowning, Ryoma walked over to where Momoshiro was and tapped rather forcefully on his senior's forehead. That sure woke Momoshiro up as the next thing he noticed, Momoshiro was blinking his eyes and looking around at the youths no longer to stifle their laughter.

Momoshiro's friend in red laughed and shouted, "Hey Momo! Quit staring and continue playing!"

Embarassed, Momoshiro laughed and proceeded to shoot the ball. However, the ball went a bit crooked and bounced off the rim of the hoop. Momoshiro just shrugged his shoulders in response.

With all distractions gone, the competition continued. Five minutes passed and both players were slightly tired, the shots not as accurate as before. However, the end was coming soon. Ryoma surprisingly was leading 9-8 and this was going to be his deciding shot.

It was a far shot, all the way beyond the three-point semi-circle. Squinting an eye in order to aim at the basket, Ryoma took a deep breath then shoot the ball. Everybody held their breaths, waiting in anticipation. This was it. The shot was not accurate and the orange ball hit the backboard. However, it further bounced off the hoop rim and slowly swirled into the net, finally dropping onto the ground.

The judge immediately declared, "Final score 10-8, Echizen is the winner!"

Ryoma punched his fist into the air, an exuberant smile lighting up his face. Victory is sweet. He then turned towards the loser and smugly taunted with a finger waving in a 'no-no' fashion, "Well, well. Momo-senpai you lost. Now you have to do whatever I say."

However, the reaction Ryoma received was definitely out of his expectations. Instead of wailing in defeat, Momoshiro just smiled and bent forward so that their faces were just inches away from each other. With a sparkle in his purple pools, Momoshiro ruffled Ryoma's slightly drenched hair lovingly and replied, "Ii yo... I will do whatever you want me to do."

Ryoma slowly dropped his hand, staring dumbly in front at his senpai. He could feel a warmth extending from his neck up to his cheeks. Ryoma did not even need to see to know that he was blushing like a red tomato. Their faces were so close to each other, he could feel Momoshiro's breath. Momoshiro's thumb was gently stroking his cheek and Ryoma's heart fluttered in happiness at the skin contact. Ryoma lowered his head to the ground, preferring to avoid the passionate gaze. His mind was going in circles now.

"So... What do you want me to do?"

"I..." The question from Momoshiro caused Ryoma to reflexively looked back up at his senior. Back up into the heart-warming pools of purple. Yah... What did he want Momoshiro to do? That was his prize, isn't it? Getting Momo-senpai to do whatever he want... However, his mind did not seem to be thinking logically now. All the previous possibilities were gone. The only constant in his weak mind now was the sparkle in Momoshiro's eyes when he talked about the circus. The circus that Ryoma was not particularly in favour of...

"Momo-senpai..."

"Yah?"

"Let's go to the circus." Ryoma whispered softly but he was close enough to Momoshiro for the latter to catch that decision.

Momoshiro could not believe his ears, did Ryoma just said he wanted to go the circus? Grinning, he cupped Ryoma's small face in his palms, forcing Ryoma to look straight at him.

"You're not joking, are you Echizen? You did say the circus, as in C-I-R-C-U-S?"

Momoshiro's eyes were shimmering with excitement, like a little kid who saw the ice-cream van. How could Ryoma take away such joy? Ryoma nodded his head with a slight smile, "Hai, you heard correctly. I did say the circus."

"But I thought you hate the circus-"

"So? I changed my mind. You better thank me before I change my mind again."

"Ahh! No no, don't change your mind! Thanks so much Echizen! Arigatou!" Momoshiro gave Ryoma a big bear hug, lifting him up into the air and nearly suffocating the poor boy.

"Momo-senpai, you're killing me! And let go! You are all covered in sweat!"

"Heh, gomen gomen! I am just so excited, you know?" Momoshiro loosened his hold but continued to wrap his arms around the small boy.

Resting his head on Momoshiro's shoulder, Ryoma could not stop smiling. How bad could the circus be, if it could make one special person so happy? Furthermore, he was going to the circus with that special person.

"Uhem, Romeo?" Momoshiro's friend coughed, causing Momoshiro to let go of Ryoma.

"Sorry Itsuki, I didn't really notice you..."

"I know, even the blind can see that. Maybe you wanna bring your lovey-doveyness elsewhere? Somewhere more private maybe..." Itsuki teased, shaking his head in mock disagreement.

Momoshiro went over and punched his friend lightly on the shoulder. "I know, I know. Sorry to make you loners jealous. I'm going now. Thanks for judging our competition. See you in school."

"Sure, see ya." Itsuki caught the ball thrown to him by Momoshiro and gathered his friends for yet another basketball match.

Waving their goodbyes, Momoshiro and Ryoma got ready to leave. However, just as they were about to exit the courts, a similar basketball rolled towards Momoshiro's feet.

"Sorry! Can you pass the ball back to us?" The voice of a young kid sounded from the court in front of them.

Grasping the orange ball in hand, Momoshiro seemed deep in thought. Then suddenly, he grinned and threw the ball towards the basketball frame. And it descended smoothly, right through the hoop.

Ryoma gaped at the sight, while the kids on the court cheered in delight. What just happened? Momoshiro and him were standing just outside the court lines and his senior managed to shoot in the ball from half-court distance. He was not even that accurate during their competition earlier on. Which means...

"Momo-senpai!"

"Yah?"

"You purposely lost to me just now!!"

"Eh, Echizen-" Momoshiro sweatdropped, he was in trouble now.

"How could you let me win when it is supposed to be a fair match?!" Ryoma shouted at Momoshiro then stomped away in anger. He did not need Momoshiro to let him win, that only meant that he was weak and could not win by his own capabilities.

Anxious, Momoshiro chased after Ryoma and halted his actions by hooking an arm around the slender shoulders. Ryoma tried to push Momoshiro away but he was simply too strong.

"Echizen, listen to me..."

"No, I'm not listening." Ryoma closed his eyes and turned his head away. Momoshiro was too close for comfort now.

"I just wanted to see you smile, Echizen."

"Nani?" Ryoma turned his head back towards Momoshiro's face upon hearing that ridiculous answer.

"Smile, Echizen. I just want to see that beautiful expression on your face. Do you know that when you scored a point, that smile on your face was priceless? And when you shot in that final ball, the genuine smile on your face is just worth everything. It's not that I want to give in to you, you know that I'm not that kind of person."

"Momo-senpai..." Oh no, Ryoma felt his blush coming back. No no, this just cannot do. He must remained calm and collected. He was still pissed off.

"All that I did, I did it for a smile. Please forgive me?" Momoshiro hugged Ryoma tightly from behind, begging for forgiveness while cursing himself for that little bit of showing off earlier on.

Ryoma wanted to be angry but how could he be angry with such a sincere confession? However, just a few words were not going to earn Momoshiro his forgiveness. Gathering all his strength, Ryoma pushed himself away from Momoshiro and ran forward a few steps. Then, he turned around and announced firmly.

"Well, if you want me to forgive you, then you'll have to treat me to ramen. Provided you catch me first." With a hint of a smile on the edge of his lips, Ryoma ran away in a flash.

Momoshiro grinned. Seemed like he was forgiven. Well then, onward to the circus!

* * *

**A/N**: Oh gosh, that is like a cheesy piece of fluff! Even the title is cheesy. Hope you all like it anyway. : ) I desperately needed to get it done so that I can start studying on my exams, which is like a few days away... There are some parts that I am not satisfied with, so any suggestions? And I am seriously thinking of writing a sequel. **Please flood me with your reviews ok?** I don't need much, just enough for me to munch on for snacks. And they will also motivate me to start on the sequel asap! By the way, anybody have PoT episodes to send me? I missed out on a lot of them and I can't download using bittorrent... 

October 2004 (Edited November 2004)


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